During the Q&A portion of the broadcast of Life in the Faith Lane on January 4, 2023, a viewer asked Coach Annamarie Strawhand about the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. The answer resulted in a spontaneous mini teaching about the rapture.   

(YOU AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD SHALL BE SAVED – SEE THE PRAYER AT THE END OF THIS POST)

This is the transcription of that teaching, which is an excerpt of the broadcast using the timestamps: 57:34 – 1:21:48.

Watch the video, and then read the transcript below, which is then followed by some notes and after thoughts.

ANNAMARIE: (Timestamp: 57:34) First question I see is from Jax. Hey, Jax, how’re you doing, darling? Ooh, we love the hard questions. I’m not scared of a hard question: “1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, can you explain this for me?” 

Okay, let’s read the King James version. Uh, let’s, let me pull up 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16. Well, the number four means door. Fourteen means fulfillment of generational promises. Sixteen means the, the deep, deep love of God for us. Okay? Right, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world. He gave His only son.” Fourteen, there’s fourteen generations between King David and King Jesus, and four is the Hebrew number for door. Who’s the door? Jesus. 

Let’s read this, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 

Let me tell you something. Everybody thinks that is us rising up into the air. Let me tell you something. Who are the dead in Christ? Us! We’ve already died in Christ. We’ve died of what? The flesh. We died of the worldly ways. We already died in Christ. We’re dead to sin. We’re born again. We’ve already died in Christ. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the old man has died. The new man in Christ is alive, and Jesus said it will be as the days of Noah when He returned. So what does that mean? Go back and read what happened to the ark of Noah.

So if Jesus Christ is our new covenant and He is an ark, and Noah and his household were saved in the ark, it means that we’re safely in the ark. We’ve died of the world. We’ve died of, of the, of the fleshly, worldly ways, and we’re alive in Christ. Yes, we’re living in the world, but we’re not of the world. So when Jesus returns we’re going to be connected with him first. He’s going to greet us first, but we’re going to be on the earth, and we’re going to be risen above spiritually. Like, we’re not going to float up in the air. It’s going to be like the days of Noah, and what happened with Noah? Noah went safely into the ark of the covenant. God shut him and his household in the ark. And it says when the judgment waters, floods came and swept away the wicked, it said and then the ark was lifted up in the air above the judgment. 

Listen to me! Listen to me! It’s the wicked that are going to be removed. We’re already in covenant with Jesus Christ. We’re safe in His ark. We’re sealed in by His blood. We’ve already died to the world. The dead in Christ shall rise first, meaning, we’re inthe ark of the covenant, and we’re going to be lifted up above what? The judgment, like Noah was lifted up in the ark because we’re safely in that covenant with God. And it says “you and your household.” That’s connected to this verse right here: 4:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:1416. 

Let’s read it again. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” We are inside the ark of the covenant. We are in Him. We are resting in Him. “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” Which also means … Listen to me, as we’re alive on the earth, and, uh, this says “those who remain unto the coming of the Lord will not prevent them which are asleep.” Listen to me. Those who remain on the earth? We have several, several scriptures says the wicked will be removed, and the righteous will inherit the earth, the remnant, those who remain. Right?

So, in other words, we’re not going to prevent other Christians, and other Christians aren’t going to prevent us, right? We’re all going to be together — the remnant, the chosen ones — because there’s a lot of Christians right now that aren’t fully awake to God, right?

“For the Lord himself shall descend with the heaven [sic], from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archinjur, angle, angel [sic], and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” What’s this mean is, that the awakening, the trumpet shall sound to prepare the way of the Lord. People are being awakened, and we’re looking up. We know the time is near. We’re ready to receive the Lord. We’re awakened, right, and there’s other Christians that are like spiritually asleep. They’re spiritually asleep, but they’re going to be awakened as well. And they will not be prevented from being in this ark of the covenant even, it’s like Jesus, when He said the parable about we’ve been working in the fields all this time, and all of a sudden somebody comes at the last minute and says, “Hey, can I work too?” And he gets the whole day’s wages when he didn’t work the whole time.

So this is what this means, that those even who come in at the last minute maybe they weren’t awakened early, maybe they weren’t prepared and awakened, like you’re, you’re praying for loved ones. You know they know Jesus, or maybe they say they’re Christians but they’re not fully awake and, and ready for the coming of the Lord. Even if they come at the last minute when they get shaken awake, they will not be prevented. They will not be prevented from coming to this time, you see? And they won’t be swept away with the wicked. 

Let me just explain this in layman’s terms. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” So we’re asleep in Jesus. We’re not asleep in the world. We’re asleep in Jesus. So let me explain this. We’re in Him, and He’s in us. We’re resting in Him, in the Lord, right? It’s like Noah inside the Ark. The judgment comes and we’re going to be lifted up above it safely in the Lord, right? 

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain in the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” Which means, those who are also doing the work, right, we’re, um, we’re working, we’re all working the fields, and, and we can’t get angry if like, “Hey, wait a minute, I’ve been awake for 20 years. I’ve been out working the gospel for 20 years, preparing the way of the Lord, and you want to show up at the last minute and receive all these blessings of the Lord when he returns?” That’s what that means. Even those who have been, um, they’ve been, they’ve been in Christ, they’re Christians, but they haven’t been actually actively doing the work of the Lord. That’s that last minute person coming, and, and they’re going to get the same as us even if they haven’t been doing all the work we’ve been doing. You understand? And we can’t prevent them, and they can’t prevent us. Jesus is going to bring us all. 

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” In other words, those of us who have really died to the flesh, those of us who have really put it all on the cross, cross, we’re going to come before the Lord first. We’re going to come before the Lord first. We’re going to be the ones that are like first in line, okay, first in line, but we’re not going to prevent those who are just newly awakened. We’re not going to prevent those, right, because we’re already dead in Christ, and we’ve got to keep dying to self. 

This is a culmination of many, many parables of Jesus Christ giving us understanding, you understand? So when Jesus says it’s like the days of Noah, we’re lifted up above the judgment, us and our households. We’re sealed in the ark of the covenant, re, resting in Christ Jesus. Those who’ve been, uh, awake all this time and doing the work, we can’t prevent those that come at the last minute, and they can’t prevent us. Jesus is going to recieve all of us. And we’re going to be lifted up above what? The judgment. And He’s coming to the earth to rule and reign, and we’re going to rule and reign with Him. And those who have really died to Christ, who have died to the flesh, who have been 100% giving it up for Jesus — a complete new creation in Christ — are the ones that are going to be exalted first, right, to come and rule and reign with him and receive the rewards and all of those things. 

I had a dream, I had a dream that I was standing in line in Jerusalem, and I was in Jerusalem. It was a very vivid prophetic dream. And I was in Jerusalem, and I was … the line, it went around all these stone buildings, all the way around, and I was moving up in line, and I knew I was waiting to get in to see Jesus. And I was like …  this was very early, um, when I started my ministry, and I was kind of way, like kind of in the back, and the line was moving slowly. And, I, and we started to all be gathered around Jesus, and He was standing there like on this stone platform, and everybody was worshipping Him and praising Him. And I was like, “I got to get up to the front. I got to get up to the front.” And I remember having to work my way up to the front, and as I worked my way up and to the front, I said, “I’ve got to get loose a lot of this stuff that’s weighing me down.” And as I was getting to the front, I was like, “Okay, I’m going to loose my bag. I don’t care about my bag. I don’t care, I’m not, I, I don’t need to carry all this stuff up there. I just need to get to Him. I just need to get to Him.” 

So I’m dumping all this stuff off, and I’m getting through the crowd, and I finally get to the front. And He was, He had his back to me. The Lord had His back to me, and I was like, “What more do I need to do? You know? There’s, there’s something more,” and I fell down on my knees, and I went like this and it was like, it was like I opened up my clothing, but not in a bad way. It was like to expose my heart. That’s what I did. I like opened up my clothing to expose my heart, and I said, “Lord, I just came here with my heart! Listen to my heart! Listen to my heart.” 

And He turned around, and He looked at me, and He came down these little steps and He came in front of me, and I remember, it was like I actually saw His face, and I looked into His eyes. And they were like beautiful lions eyes. They were like gentle, but a, like, like a lion, and He put His hands on my shoulder and He said, “Now you understand.” He was like, “Now you understand.” And that was the end of the dream. 

And I realized this was this 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 scripture that is we’ve got to keep dying to self and what He really wants is our heart, and when He returns, we’ve got to keep working, um, to dump all of our worldly stuff off and get closer to Him. And, um, but we can’t stop the others that believe in Him to get to Him even if we’ve done more work, even if we’ve done, you see, understand what I’m saying? And that goes back to that parable, um, the Lord of the, um, the vineyard that hires the workers and the workers that have been in their all day, right, they’ve been working all day and then all of a sudden these laborers come at the last minute, and they get the same wages. They get the same amount, and we, we can’t like begrudge them, but will we be moved up to the front of the line? Yeah. Yeah. The dead shall rise at first, but we will come up, we’ll, we’ll be exalted first because we have really died to self, right, in Christ. 

So I hope that explains that, okay? And those of you who want to understand that we, um, the lifting up is like the days of Noah. Those who are in Christ, we’re lifted up in the air above the judgment like the ark of the covenant was lifted up. While God comes in and judges the earth and wipes out the wicked, we’re going to be lifted up above it spiritually like it won’t touch us. For example, let me give you some scriptures. I hope I explained that to you good. 

You see, if you’re so focused on this rapture mentality, which Jesus never, ever really talked about. He didn’t say go and wait for me to beam you up out of here. He said go and spread the gospel to all the world. Go out and spread the good news to every creature, every living thing, and occupy until I come. And He said it’ll be like the days of Noah. The wicked were wiped out, and He’s the ark of the covenant. We’re inside Him, and He’s inside us. And we’re already dead in Christ. We’re already dead in Him, and we want to get more dead in Him. We want, what does that mean, the ways of the world are, are, and the ways of our flesh, right, we’ve been dying to self every day.

Now, let me get these scriptures so y’all understand here what I’m talking about. If your, if your, if you’ve been brainwashed on the beam-me-up-scotty rapture, uh, you’ll have a hard time understand what these scriptures really mean. And I mean no disrespect, I’m just telling you I went out and I searched the truth. You see, the whole rapture thing of being beamed up out of here has made the church complacent. It’s made us sit in those dusty pews waiting to be beamed up out of here instead of going out and doing what Jesus has told us to do, and the devil is laughing the whole time. Stop it! Get out and do the work of the Lord, and don’t be mad if certain people come at the last minute and they get, they get blessed too, right? It’s okay. Jesus said this would happen. 

Let me give you some scriptures here. Hang on. I may make some people mad, but, you know what, that’s just too bad. It is what it is. I got to speak truth. Stop waiting on the rapture and get to work occupying as kings and priests through Christ Jesus on earth as it is in Heaven. It is the wicked that will be removed and the righteous will inherit the earth. Let’s prepare Jesus’ bride and get the harvest ready for him. 

Here’s the scriptures: Matthew 24:38 – “For as the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.” The wicked were removed and Noah and his household were saved. And the scriptures also said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household shall be saved.” 

Who’s your household? Go before the Lord and say, “Lord, this is my household: me; my husband, Michael; my daughter, Landry; her beloved, Cory James [Inaudible]. This is our household, Lord. Let them all be covered under this scripture. Come on. 

Proverbs 10:30 – “The righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall never inhabit the earth.” The righteous shall never be removed! Never, never be removed! Never! But the wicked shall NOT inhabit the earth. That was Proverbs 10:30. 

So here’s your scriptures: Matthew 24:38; Proverbs 10:30. I use, I use the King James. 

Psalm 37:9. I did a whole teaching on Psalm 37, which is a prophecy of King David of the end times. (You can watch that teaching HERE) Psalm 37:9 – “For the evil doers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord,” which is connected to 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16, right? We’re waiting in Him. “They shall inherit the earth.” 

Psalm 37:10 – “For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be. Yea, you shall dili, diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” In other words, the wicked are just going to be gone. They’re just going to disappear. You’re going to look around for them and they’re gone. Where’d they go? It’s happening right now. It’s happening right now. Where did James Comey go? Where [Inaudible]. One day he’s on Twitter — tweet, tweet, tweet — and the next day he’s gone. Bye, bye, birdie. Where is he? Where are these people? Where’d they go? This is a fulfillment of scripture. 

Psalm 37:11 – “But the meek,” again, those who are in Christ that died to self, that died to the world, we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, “But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in an abundance of peace.” Come on. Get ready. 

Psalm 37:28 – “For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not his saints.” I love that it’s Psalm, Psalm 37, Old Testament that says, “He forsaketh not his saints.” Who are the saints? Us, us who are in Christ Jesus. Come on. “And forsaketh not his saints. They are preserved forever.” Our seed, our children, we are preserved where? In the earth forever. The kingdom is what? Coming to earth — on earth as it is in Heaven. Come on. And we’re preparing what? The way of the Lord. For Him to come and what? Rule here. But the seed of the wicked shall be what? Cut off! “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever.” 

Revelation 5:10 – “And hast made us kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.” 

Revelation 20:6 – “Blessed,” 20 verse six. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

He’s here. He’s at the door. We got to prepare the bride. We got to be ready. We got to be out working and doing what He’s told us to do. 

Luke 19:13 “And he called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Occupy until I come.’”

Matthew 28:19-20 contains what has come to be called as the Great Commission: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” We’re coming to the end of the age, and now we’re coming into the Kingdom Age — getting ready to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. Come on. 

Jesus, if, if Jesus is coming back for a sparkling, clean, beautiful bride shining like a diamond, we have work to do. Jesus gave this command to the apostles shortly before He ascended and essentially outlines what Jesus expected the apostles and those who followed Him to do in His absence. And we’re going to do it. And, devil, you’re a liar. I’m not sitting around waiting on the rapture to be beamed out of here. I’m doing the work of the Lord, and even if there’s certain people that come in at the last minute and start doing the work with me, I’m not going to begrudge them. I’m not going to get jealous and say, “Hey, wait a minute, I’ve been here for years doing all this, and now you’re ….” But I know because of those years of dying to self, there’s more rewards for me, and I’m going to get to the front of the line with Him. 

And that, my friends, is 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 because Jesus is the door, number four. Fourteen, generational promises that come through Jesus Christ because we’re in His family now, and sixteen, the reckless love of God for us, and He [Inaudible] fulfill His promises. Hallelujah. 

Did I explain that good? I hope so. Some people might not like what I say. Oh, well, that’s the truth that the Lord revealed to me. (Timestamp: 1:21:48)

NOTES

Stop waiting on the rapture and get to work occupying as kings and priests through Jesus Christ on earth as it is in Heaven. It’s the wicked that will be removed, and the righteous will inherit the earth. Lets prepare Jesus’ bride and get the harvest ready for HIM. 

I realized that during the broadcast I forgot to mention the part about being caught up in the clouds, but I did address that the lifting up in the air is like the ark of Noah. I felt like I needed to add scripture about Noah’s ark being lifted up in the air to compare it to the New Testament. 

Matthew 24:37-39 (KJV) – 37 “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Genesis 7:17’s parallels with John 3:14-15 and 12:32 are all the more interesting. The ark anticipates the lifting up of Christ on the cross. It also connects with the cross and the second coming we are lifted up with Christ.

Genesis 7:17 (KJV) – “And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.”

John 3:14-15 (KJV) – “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 12:32 (KJV) – “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

PRAYER FOR YOU AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD TO BE SAVED

You pray and come before the Father and speak this word:

“Father God, your word says in Acts 16:31  that “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” Father God, I believe your word as you also promised this to Rahab of Jericho when she put out the scarlet thread, she and her household were saved. I believe the scarlet thread represents the Blood of Jesus, and I ask right now for Grace and Mercy by the Blood of Jesus,  Your Ark of the New Covenant. Father God you also sealed up Noah and his family safely in the Ark and they did not succumb to the earthly judgement. So Father God, I ask today that me and my household shall be saved according to your word and I place myself and my household in the Blood of Jesus and I ask for grace and mercy that we are all sealed up in the Ark of Covenant of Jesus Christ because I believe. Father God this is my household and I name them by name:

(then proceed to name you and your family members and yes any pets – the animals biblically are considered part of a household.)

“Father God thank You for being faithful to your word and I continue to pray for all my loved ones in my household to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!  Thank You Father for Your Grace and Mercy over them and myself according to your word they will be protected in the time of judgement as you did with Rahab and Noah in Jesus Name, Amen”